Love In All Its Forms
by Aria Palmieri
Summary: A collection of short romances, involving various Harry Potter characters. They range from the more lighthearted and sometimes comical, to happy romance, to dark and sinister tales of unrequited love, to everything in between.
1. The Guilty Ones

"Love In All Its Forms"

Summary: A collection of short romances, involving various Harry Potter characters. They range from the more lighthearted and sometimes comical, to happy romance, to dark and sinister tales of unrequited love, to everything in between. I'll aim to write them in a variety of styles; right now I'm seeing some songfics and some more traditional stories. Rated "M" for mature sexual content in many of the stories.

(Note: I suppose I should warn: there will be slash and femslash. Try not to let it deter you.)

A/N: This is mostly a proposed solution for my random bursts of wanting to write a romance story but never being able to finish. Some of these stories may be excerpts from some of my other works just for creative order, I guess. Read and review, constructive criticism ALWAYS welcome, and even flames, if they'll help me accomplish something. Otherwise, enjoy, or not. Whatever suits you! (And, just for the record, the following is not a songfic, despite the title)

Disclaimer: If I owned Harry Potter, I wouldn't be sitting in bed writing fanfictions, I'd be sitting in bed with Harry Potter! (Did I just say that out loud?)

* * *

"The Guilty Ones"

It was the soft warmth of your steady breath that woke me. Your arm flung across my torso, your leg curled tenderly around mine. I moved the sheets aside--the little shadows in the creases of wrinkles seemed blue in the pale light that spilled in from the huge rectangular window across the room--and gently removed myself from your embrace to rise from bed and cross to the window. The floor was wooden; smooth and glassy; cool to the touch. Something that I hadn't noticed just a few hours ago. But then, a few hours ago we had rushed in our haste across the surface, laughing and racing each other to the bed with a few light kisses, a few embraces as candles flickered in playful imitation of our passion.

I looked straight ahead of me at one of them, a drip of wax frozen in its path. Now it seemed cold, its gaze fixed upon me, rooting me to the spot.

Everything was still; nothing gave the slightest trace of movement, except for your soft breathing from the bed.

So far away.

I turned again and walked back to you. You projected a delicate innocence; curled, naked, upon a bed of silk, your milky skin and soft, fiery hair in such contrast with each other. I took my gaze slowly down your body; the definitive turn of your upper lip... I remembered tracing my lips from the corner of your small mouth—so small—down to the gentle curve where your neck met your shoulder... a tender, vulnerable patch of skin that caused pleasurable tremors to run through you when I touched it...I brought my eyes down to the gentle curve of your breasts, set out against the sheets. They were small; full, and so nearly virginal...my eyes traveled down to the softness of your stomach; the sight of its welcoming tenderness brought a gentle warmth to my inner thighs. I reached a finger out and gently moved it down its center; you stirred slightly, then relaxed again. I continued my path down one of your thighs, moving gingerly around that area so previously unexplored. I sat as gently as I could on the bed next to you, my hand now resting on your thigh. Your eyes opened slowly, already fixed on me with that gaze that had set my heart burning since you'd first graced me with it. You smiled and stretched, leaning in to kiss me gently on my lips. I raised my hand to hold your face to mine. _This is wrong_. You brought a hand up to stroke my hair, which I had tied loosely. I felt my lips tremble beneath yours as my stomach twisted uncomfortably with pleasure. You ended the kiss abruptly, still close to me and smiling.

"What is it?" Your soft voice caught me off guard, as it always did. I smiled back, laughing slightly. The laugh was nowhere near as bouncing and lively as yours... now, more than ever, I noticed its waver, its age.

"Nothing, my love... it's nothing. I just--" to my surprise and horror, I felt tears fall from my eyes when I blinked. You reached a hand out to wipe them; I attempted to wave you away, but you just drew my head to your heart.

"Do you hear my heart beating, Minerva?" You breathed in my ear as my tears trickled onto your chest. I finally resigned and wrapped my arms around your waist, pulling myself closer to you. You stroked my hair consolingly for a moment, until I felt a wetness on the top of my head. You must have been crying, too. In that instant, you released me and put your head to my chest, situating your ear just above my heart, clutching at my back just as I had yours.

"Wherever I go," you said hoarsely, "I can hear it beating..."


	2. The Sweetest Kind Excerpts

"Love In All Its Forms"

A/N: "The Guilty Ones" actually turned out far differently than I'd planned. But I kind of like it. I guess that's th nature of these things, eh? Well, following are excerpts from another (probably never-to-be-completed...) story that I've started, called "The Sweetest Kind". They seemed a bit out of place in the story, and I think they were meant to just be drabbles (for lack of a better word). So enjoy, R&R, as always :)

Disclaimer: You know the drill.

"The Reason For Dreaming"

She gazed into my eyes with that same unfathomable expression that she'd worn the day that we met.

"What are you thinking about?" I wasn't sure why I was whispering-- perhaps to keep the peace of this golden moment of secret understanding that had so effortlessly passed between us. She shook her head gently, never taking her eyes from mine.

"I'm not sure," she said slowly, turning to face me completely and moving closer. I had no idea why this didn't feel strange at all. Everything seemed to be securely in place with the universe, and yet the fabrics of the moment were delicate; silk threads suspended over a spiraling abyss. I moved towards her, so that the only thing separating us was about an inch of thin air, occupied by our warm breath on each others' necks.

"I am," I breathed as gently as I could.

There was a moment, a wonderful, sacred moment during which nothing stirred. The earth stopped spinning, no wind blew, no sound came from below, no crickets chirped. A stream of silent understanding passed between us, and that was it.

I felt the distance close between us, felt my heart inflate and rise into the widest reaches of infinite space as her hands explored my body and my lips explored hers. It was unreal, completely unreal and I feared that I was dreaming.

But, in the most smoldering, burning deserts an oasis can spring from the ground. And, mirage or not, the long-thirsting adventurer will run to it for refreshment. And mirage or not, the adventurer will be satisfied.

"Burning"

"Come ON, you'd never kissed ANYONE before then?" I had Hermione's left hand in my right, and I was slowly covering it with kisses. What a wonderful place, the Room of Requirement. We'd sneaked away from Harry and Ron to find somewhere more private. Since that moment yesterday, we'd come to perfect, unspoken understanding.

"Well, there WAS Krum… but that was last year, and it was…" she looked away, blushing.

"What?" I smiled, kissing up her arm now.

"It was to make you jealous. That obviously didn't work well; it just made RON jealous, and ME miserable." I grinned again, laying down and pulling her next to me.

"Want to know a secret?" I whispered.

"Tell me."

"I was SO jealous of Krum. I think that was when I realized I liked you, actually." I felt so perfectly content…relaxed and enthusiastically bursting with joy at once. Hermione laughed.

"Really? That's a relief, then… I thought I'd just made things worse…" I resumed the kissing of her arm, propped up on an elbow. From her wrist, where I stayed for a while, feeling her pulse beneath my mouth, I gently traced up to the crook of her elbow, where I lingered again, and up to her shoulder, and where her neck met it at such a nice angle, such a perfect curve. I rested here the longest, breathing gently just over her pulse point, where I then lowered my lips as gently as I could. Suddenly, clawing at my stomach, that animal desire that felt so wonderful and painful at once seized me. I felt her shudder with pleasure beneath the suddenly hot, fast kisses on her neck. The urgency overwhelmed me once more, though this time a thousand times stronger than last night in the passageway. Then, it was cautious, testing. Now I knew what I wanted, and what she wanted. I moved my fevered mouth along her jaw line, my hands all over her body.

"Is this too much?" I breathed into the corner of her mouth.

"No," she moaned, clutching desperately at my back and neck, "_More…_" And that set me over the edge. I felt an impatient warmth between my thighs, and crawled on top of her, straddling her as I swiftly removed our clothing. Soon, we were naked on the bed, glistening with sweat, all hands and tongues and legs; I was shuddering again; She rolled on top of me, and began placing burning, fevered kisses from my neck, down to my collarbone, to my breasts. She kissed each one gently in turn, hardening my nipples immediately. She began to experiment, first taking a nipple gently between her lips, and then trying the same with her teeth. Each touch sent electricity through me-- how could someone with so little experience be so exquisitely expert? She gently traced her tongue around each breast, and slowly down the middle of my torso, to my stomach, which sent shivers down my spine. She rested her head there for a moment, her lips on my navel. The clenching at my stomach begged her to go lower, to explore that area so previously unexplored… I was feeling impatient. Her brown curls stuck to my stomach with sweat, so enticing and tortuous.

"Please…" I breathed into her ear, "please…" She hadn't even touched me below my waist yet and already I had begun to feel a heavy blindness come over me. I arched my back and she took that as a signal to bring her hands to my core. First she caressed, ever so gently, the opening, gradually sliding one finger in, and then two, pumping in and out, faster and faster; we were in perfect time, my hips involuntarily rising to meet her thrusts, all the while her thumb stroking that little ball of concentrated pleasure that was my clit.

"Ginny…" I could barely speak. "Don't…stop…keep--" but at that moment, I felt a soft mouth; a tongue swirling around my clit, and I could do nothing but scream her name so loudly that, had we not been in the Room of Requirement, the whole castle would have known. I grasped her head close to me, begging her to continue. She did, gladly, easing out by kissing my inner thighs, back up to my stomach, sliding her fingers out of me. My chest was heaving uncontrollably, and I still had tremors of pleasure running through my body. My eyelids were heavy, and so were Hermione's. She moved next to me, kissing me softly on my lips.

"How did I do?" She murmured drowsily into my mouth. All I could do was kiss her back, wrapping my arms around her waist. I turned so that my back was to her front; the better to snuggle closer to her. She slid her arm over my torso, and I held it to my mouth, kissing it until I could fight sleep no longer.

"Only Hymns Upon Your Lips"

It was Saturday, and the April sun bathed the grounds and turned the lake's surface to freshly-blown glass-- shimmering and smooth, only disrupted by delicate little ripples that came with the breeze. Blades of grass were strands of woven silk as, hands entwined, we lay, gazing at the sky. Clouds drifted lazily by, wispy and free, occasionally rolling over the sun, causing happy shadows, like playful spirits, to wander over us.

"Hermione," I whispered, not wishing to disturb the glorious symphony that was the breeze in our hair, the love in our hearts.

"Yes, my love?" she replied, her voice soft in my ears. I moved closer to her so lat I could lean over her and stroke her cheek, brushing the hair from her face as gently as I could.

"I love you." She smiled, then leaned up to bring her lips gently to mine, her hand resting lightly on the place where my jaw met my neck. Waves of euphoria washed over me as our lips separated, still leaving us close enough to feel each others' breath on our noses.

"I love you, too" she whispered, so softly. I lay back down, my arm resting on her torso, one of her hands entwined in my hair, stroking it gently, in her way. This was bliss. Purest bliss.

"Joy"

You threw your robes into a corner, and ran to me in the dull sunlight streaming in from a window of the Room of Requirement. You ran to the bed, taking me immediately in your arms, running your hands all over my body, holding me close, placing the sweetest, most playful kisses on my shoulders, my neck, my forehead. I held you as close to me as I could, stroking your back, your stomach, your legs. You were enthusiastic, welcoming. It stole my breath, overwhelming me in the most exquisite way. You rolled over me, under me, leading me this way and that, constantly smiling into my mouth, and I, into yours. There was one instant in which I stopped for a moment, to look down into your sparkling eyes, your smiling, beckoning face. I quickly took you in my arms once more. The warmth of early evening fast turned to a cool night, but within our secret room, the heat rose quickly as our lovemaking fast escalated. Candles blazed and mimicked our passion as we moved to a perfect rhythm, almost as one. I could feel every inch of myself tingling and pulsing with pleasure as our hips moved together, almost like liquid. Together we were one throbbing, trembling animal, breathing heavily, dancing gracefully in the vibrant light of the moon, which seemed to radiate heat that melded with ours, a union so energizing and affecting, driving us, pushing us higher, harder, faster, sweeter, until we met, backs arched, bodies seemingly fused, in a shattering climax. And we collapsed, separate beings once more, breathing and sweating and trembling with pleasure in each others' arms as we fell slowly to sleep.

"The Mirror-Blue Night"

I opened my eyes to find my arms empty. I felt around the bed for her, but knew before I found it empty that she weren't in it. The only light in the room now came from candles, sputtering and dying, and cool white moonlight pouring through the window, where it silhouetted her figure, so familiar.

_Just a dream_.

I realized that she was turned away from me, towards the window, and I slowly rose, crossing the room to wrap my arms around her waist, resting my head on her shoulder. She laid her head on mine for a long time, placing her hands on my hands. The moonlight just illuminated her soft, milky flesh… I kissed her shoulder gently, reveling in her gentle scent… something flowery and elusive… I could never place it. I rested my nose on her neck, inhaling that perfect aroma, yearning so to stay here forever-- the two of us, bathed in moonlight, reveling in our love; though tonight, a ghostly barrier seemed to hang between us. I took one last, confusing whiff of her skin, then took her hand to lead her back to bed.

"I'll be around in a minute," she said quietly, still turned towards the window and the crescent moon that cast its sliver of silver light on her still form.

"What's wrong?" I whispered, worried, grasping her hand more tightly.

"Nothing," she replied, still staring out the window. She must have sensed my worry, for she smiled gently, stroking my hand. "Really, nothing. I just needed a minute. Go back to sleep, I'll be there in a moment." She slowly brought my hand to her lips, kissing it tenderly. This reassured me, and I released her hand and returned to bed. I tried to sleep, tried not to ponder in my mind millions of things that I could have done to upset her. I lay in bed for what felt like an hour but what probably wasn't more than ten minutes, until I felt her crawl into bed next to me, sliding an arm around my waist. A moment, a terribly long moment passed, before she gingerly pulled me close to her. Her breath slowed and steadied, and I felt myself slipping into sleep once more, reassured, but not entirely.


End file.
